Literacy Council bringing Christmas cheer, joy of reading to local students

The Christian County Literacy Council is gearing up for the holidays, and they’ll be bringing Christmas cheer and the joy of reading to students in the community with several events.

Having just wrapped up Community Reader Day—to great success for all involved in that endeavor—Literacy Council Executive Director Francene Gilmer says they’ll move into preparations for the second Holidaze Community Festival set for December 4 at the Bruce Convention Center. She says the free event is open for children from pre-k to the sixth grade and their families and it all gets started at 4:30 p.m. that day.

She says Santa himself will be there, and there will be plenty of activities, food and fun on hand to enjoy.

Then, on December 15 and 16, Santa will go visit local kindergartners, along with the Literacy Council and his elves, to read with students and deliver cookies.

Each kindergartner will receive a goodie bag with cookie ingredients, a book, some candy and a pencil—to not only encourage early reading but also maybe some early writing. 

The Literacy Council not only has events for kids, as they also host friendly writing competitions for adults and have numerous scholarship opportunities for college students, including the Beverly Whitfield Memorial Scholarship, which is open for applications now. For more information on upcoming events, or to become involved in their efforts, visit the Christian County Literacy Council on Facebook.